Hail Haile

Haile Gebrsellasie, the world record holder for the marathon has done it again. He broke the world record for the marathon in the Berlin marathon today, with a record time of 2:03:59. He was the holder of the previous world record of 2:04:26 both set at the Berlin Marathon.

I was surprised to catch this live on TV on ESPN sports on Astro this Sunday afternoon, one of the first few times I've actually watched a live telecast of a marathon. Watching races on TV can sometimes be boring (this is why we go run it ourselves!!!) - but this race was a surprise as I was at that very point in time reading the Pacesetters magazine, and for the last few editions has had Haile's picture in the PowerBar sponsor ad page with the huge "world record holder for the marathon" declaration!!

As it turns out, I did not managed to catch the entire race - this would mean watching a man run for 2hrs (!) - but about at least 2/3 of it - and the interesting thing was that they have pacers hired for the race (I think by the organiser?) - Haile was surrounded by 4 pacers - these guys paced him up to at least between 20-30km - they were fast! It was like running a race with body guards. There were pacers for nearly most of the top guys - and this was interesting - imagine running at world record pace up to 30kms - why would you not go for the full thing with a PB (Personal Best)? Well, then I realised that they get paid for pacing, and were *not* supposed to win the race.

Well, I must apologise for the obsession with racing in the last few blogs... (always the amateur sportsperson!)

Experiments of the heart

A few lbs (just a few) lighter, and after recovering from a nasty flu last week, I started running again this week and found myself running faster and feeling lighter as well. Was it due to the 2-3kms I tried to do after work outside and it was getting dark and I ran faster? Or the Dean Karnezas book which inspired me? I do not know but it was a strange release and a good feeling because I felt free and relaxed...

Today also marked another one of my boredom experiments, something I've always wanted to do but never tried - I tried to do the stationary bike at the gym for 30kms - am so proud to know that I made it easily !!! I have no benchmark to compare, but it was around 70 minutes, and I guess this is a bit slow, but the strange thing was that during the ride I was bored and tried to experiment with controlling my heart rate. It scared me because by a focussed calm, I managed to drop my hearrate from 110 to 95 within less than half a minute. It was a pretty weird "experiment" as I tried to recreate a type of calm to slow down my heart and I found it could work. At the end of the bike ride, I actually found a slower heart rate than when I started, whilst the two fellas working out next to me were panting and sweating profusely!

I cannot believe I am conducting lab tests on myself...

The Reading Runner and Climber

Running and Reading is so different. One is pure mental, the other pure physical. And yet, surprisingly, I enjoy these two past-times tremendously.

1. Dean Karnazes - 50 Marathons, 50 Days (extract and picture of book taken from a book store website)

2. Lincoln Hall - Dead Lucky

I wanted to relate two finds in Australia - the price of books being slightly more expensive, I seldom buy books overseas except for bargain offers. But these two were a great find.

Dean Karnazes 50 marathon in 50 days was a great find - it is about the race where he raced a marathon in a day in 50 days in 50 different states in US in 2006. He actually did 50 marathons in 50 days! He recreated some of the marathons by asking for the race directors to point out the route of the state's marathon, and ran 8 of the marathons "live", including the last race, the New York City Marathon in December 2006 - the same first race Lance Armstrong ran as his marathon debut. Although this guy is pretty much a marketing man (he has written the Ultramarathon Man book and essentially gotten North Face funding for this race) he definitely captivated the spirit of running. Good tips are all over the book - I am on Marathon number 11 now, and when I finish the book, I will pass it on other runners. I think it is absolutely inspirational - he writes about not only various tips but also the different learnings or runners who join him in some of his 50 runs. Drop a note if you want to borrow this from me.

Lincoln Hall's Dead Lucky is a slightly older book (2007), which was on a bargain corner, next to another book on climber's ethics - as also in the same year 2006, there were 11 or 12 people who died in the Everest, raising the highest death toll for the year and raising questions on how ethical it is to leave injured climbers and take care of yourself first. Lincoln Hall turns out to be an Australian experienced and famous climber who collapsed on his way down and he was left for dead, and then he turned out alive the next day, where he had spent a blistering night on the peak of everest. The book is written by him, so it would be interesting to find out how he managed to survive and what happened (I've not read it yet!).

I am looking for a nice curled up weekend on reading. And then out to train for my next marathon after that... or was it before that?

Footnote : I've always enjoyed book stores - and it was no different this time. When I walked into the book store even overseas, there was a sense of calm and serene about browsing around. Where I was sick or even tired from a long day, I swear I felt my heartbeat slow down to a slower more restful peace around the book store.

Long Way Home

Pic 1 - Family Day at Federation Square on Father's Day





Pic 2 - Seriously I was really at my niece concert on one of the nights. I spent 3 hrs at a 7 year old's grade 2 concert! Seriously, the Australian primary school kids did such an elaborate concert!
Pic 3 - The Melbourne Arts Center from the Eureka skydeck

Pic 4 - Seriously, I spent AUD 15 to stand on the Edge on the Eureka Skydeck... a cubic structure which slowly edges out of the building such that when they defrost the glass, you see you are standing on a piece of glass 88 stories fronm the ground.

September was a busy month for me, in a different sort of way. I was sick again for two weeks, making this a really "poor health" year for me.





Making a difference, I travelled to Australia for a recruitment drive for the firm. In a span of 11 days I was away, I did about 5 campus and off campus career fair, three and a half full days of interviews, talked to probably about 200-300 people about the firm, worked two full saturdays, went out on ALL days to catch up with my friends, and had a family day sunday with my brother, and my mum and dad, in Australia!

Phew.

Indeed, it has been a long way home for me, and somehow, away from my home in Malaysia, I tend to be slack on blogging, busy or not. And coming back home last week, I was really out for two days - down with the flu, and my defences were broken finally!



Well, this is indeed a personal blog, so no photos of work, and these were the only time I managed to squeeze out to spend doing other things.

I studied in Melbourne for my undergraduate degree, and since then have only been back to melbourne a few times. There was a great sense of deja vu, but also a sense that I was a visitor passing by this time. I never felt a strong kinship with Melbourne, although I still have a lot of good friends and my brother and his family is still there.

Nevertheless, I am glad to be home.

Olympics @ Damai Laut 08.08.08

I am catching up on posts of activities in the last few weeks in August. How time flies!

On Aug 08. 2008, the 2008 Olympics was officiated in Beijing. It was also the weekend where we went away for the Business Unit Meeting for my office. This was a 3 day event where we will have a day of team building, a day of community updates and some rests on the remaining time away from work. This year it was held at Damai Laut, Lumut.

The theme this year? Olympics of course! And we went for it, from all the "themed" sports with a twist to having screens to watch the opening ceremony to Olympic themed new hires performances. All in, fun and really in the spirit of sports, I had a great time doing not much, and enjoyed the best organised event ever, and watched a great team run this event as smooth as the militaristic Beijing did!

And, I won the Hookers Cup (our annual golf tournament) again this year for ladies champion...! (At the expense of a sore arm for a week due to over-golfing practice last minute).

A great weekend away.


Pic 1 - Beautiful resort attracts UFO photography?

Pic 2 - Beautiful sunset... better than discussing work in a meeting room...

Pic 3 - Rings of the Olympics - this was a team building game where the competitors had to get their "balls" through the rings of the Olympics

Pic 4 - A portion of the Photography SIG taking the privilege for a group shot (my camera was used!)

Pic 5 - Getting the takraw through the rings of the Olympics...

Pic 6 - Redefining the relay 4x50m

Pic 7 - Egg Putt (a short putt using your own designed shot put with an egg in it, held together with straws and toothpicks)... apparently a harvard orientation game?

Pic 8 - Land synchronised swimming!

Pic 9 - At the most scenic hole, golfing @ Hookers Cup during the 3 day weekend

Pic 10 - The Hookers Cup

Welding @ Happy Merdeka Day Celebration - The Curve 31st Aug 2008

Warning 2: More amateur photography ahead...

After an overdose of fireworks at MIFC within the week, I thought I would chill on trying to go to another crowded site in KLCC, although my wish had been to photograph fireworks at KLCC from Ascott swimming pool (which is on a higher floor). I have seen photos of this angle, and it is spectacular.

Anyway, onto Merdeka Day eve, and decided to check out the party at the Curve, which was blocked out since 7pm+. Last year, the fireworks had been near Cineleisure, and this was where the cop I chatted to told me as well. Unfortunately a tall building in construction had appeared in front of it, and also the view from across the road at the corner of the BU4/11 slip road presented the big ugly building and three spotlights spoiling the shot.

So, I decided to get closer, took out two of the street spotlights, and felt I was quite safe, hmm why no one near me... the crowd was on the street between Ikea and Curve, and about 50 m ahead. And then I heard the countdown, 3,2,1 and .... off goes the fireworks, but where was it?

It turned out to be at the angle directly between the building and cineleisure, and not within my view. I jogged with my tripod to be closer, and well, it turned out all my shots looked like a welder in a construction site...

Nothing beats MIFC, skills or no skills. This was over in less than 5 mins to my disappointment. And I did not know how I could've avoided the building and also then I understood why no one in the crowd was doing a DSLR. Apparently the pros always know where not to go to... but the lazy photographers like me take the priority to the walking distance from house.

Photo 1 - the first shot I took after jogging another 20m to "see" the fireworks. See the ugly building? Cineleisure is on the right. I am on the exit road from Ikano/Ikea.

Photo 2 - This over-exposed shot really looks like a giant construction welding iron! Sigh...

Smoked Out @ Putrajaya MIFC Finale!

Warning - don't be offended by unprocessed lousy photography!

If you have not been to the MIFC fireworks competition (this is the 2nd year it is held), I have to say, it is a truly breathtaking experience, with or without the camera. This year, the Malaysian International Fireworks Competition was held at around the same time last year, and at the same location - at Putrajaya. All the word last year on traffic was unfounded, and together with some budding photographers from my founded Photography SIG in my company, we set to this event to "learn" how to take fireworks.

The first night on 24th Aug (last post) turned out to be a rained washed night, with the rain coming in before the fireworks and in the middle of the fireworks, causing some of us to frantically pull the camera to safety in the middle of the event, whilst I actually took the umbrella out in the middle, and still had a few spots on the camera view.

However, the fireworks was indeed breathtaking, and despite saying "I will not stand another 3 hrs again", a couple of days later, I actually considered doing it again, as I was a bit disappointed in my shots.

Come 29th August, being a Friday, the timing sounded good. However, it was almost not a night to be for me, as firstly I left my tripod at home when I left in the morning to work (intending to go directly after work). Then it followed that I left my house keys behind in a rush, and had to get a spare key. By the time I got to PICC, it was almost close to 830pm, after almost 2.5 hours of travelling from office, to home, to get the tripod, and then finally to Putrajaya. Nevertheless, we had planned to do this second trip and sourced out another location, the cafeteria of PICC, where for RM 12 coupons for food, we could get the verandah and be shielded from rain and best of all, eat and have a seat waiting!

As it turned out, the photos turned out, disastrous and worse as the smoke blew to our direction! The fireworks display was also not as spectacular or formation like as the ones we saw the sunday 24th August (who in fact turned out to be the winner to our surprise). So, here are the smoked out photos (unprocessed).

Pic 1 : The first shot, not smoked out but we were obviously at one corner of the cafeteria (as indicated by my cutting out the last ball of fire)

Pic 2 : This shot was less than 1 min into the fireworks, and already smoked out!

Pic 3 : I found the water layer on the outside of the verandah an interesting reflection, almost a strange cut of the fireworks, but because it was too far away, the reflection was not complete, but it was an interesting idea. (Again, holy smokes!)

Pic 4 : Holy smokes, flowers on fire, in a portrait shot!

Pic 5 : Putrajaya at night, after all the buzz

Footnote : I buzzed KC when I was there (and he was there indeed), and he responded, "wind blow your way" - I was wondering what the heck does that mean... well, that was so clear during the fireworks.

Anyway, I will not miss this event next year, after seeing MIFC, no other fireworks can equate this.

Great Show!